Watchdog

In response to a formal Public Information Act request submitted Dec. 17, the Alamo Colleges last week sent a letter to Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton asking to withhold the agreement from the public. According to the letter, signed by Alamo Colleges attorney Roxella T. Cavazos, the separation agreement stipulates that if a public records request for the document is made, the community college district will request the attorney general’s opinion.

Last month, Bexar County Sheriff Susan Pamerleau seemed to acknowledge the role the media can play in cases of potential officer misconduct. Previously, her office had refused to release to the media even a basic incident report of a fatal deputy-involved shooting.

That day, after a grand jury declined to indict two deputies in the shooting of Gilbert Flores, Pamerleau told a roomful of reporters that “times have changed … and going forward, we may make different decisions on information, on whether it’s releasable or not.”

A special prosecutor investigating the possible violation of the Texas Open Meetings Act by certain members of Montgomery County Commissioners Court as well as other community members said he hopes to have all his documents to a seated grand jury in January.

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